A UNIQUE garden has been created at the RHS Flower Show to reflect what grows naturally at Tatton Park.

The Tatton Estate teamed up with the RHS and designer Michael McGarr to celebrate the landscape and ecology of the park.

Simon Tetlow, head gardener of the Tatton Estate, said:"This was a collaborative project so it gave us a different angle. I really enjoyed it.

"We planted 2,500 wild flowers that grow naturally here. We fenced off the area for eight weeks to keep sheep and deer off and nature did the rest for us. It gets on with it quietly, not over flowery but sustainable.

Grasses, spotted orchid, flowering mint, field maple, teasels and hawthorn grew in a small area measuring just 10 metres by 10 metres.

The design didn't finish until the show opened.

It is hoped that the miniature wildflower meadow will inspire more people to introduce biodiversity in their own gardens.

"The key message is to encourage people to get out and explore the park," said Simon.

"Everyone sticks to the avenues and pathways yet just over 50 yards away, it's amazing what you could find.

"Spread out, there are 1,000 acres to explore.

"It's like hide and seek. The harder you look, the more you will see. You've got your own personal Tatton."

Visitors were enthralled to see the natural show garden that shaped itself.

"It is a very loose style of gardening," said Simon. "People were walking on it like they were going out for a stroll in the meadow. Some were even lying down on it."

Tree stumps and fallen stems and bark are also full of fascinating hidden gems.

"Even deadwood habitats should be valued," said Simon. "They are vital sources of invertebrates and microbiological life and play vital roles within botany.

"It is a fountain of life, you can make it into a feature for your garden."

The garden included a structure for a shelter and local stone walling in the style of the wider parkland as well as a water feature.

Designer Michael McGarr said: "Linking a garden to its landscape and the ecology of the site is crucial for me.

"Many people know of Tatton Park's Japanese garden or the fern collection but you have this much bigger enormous landscape of hundreds of acres that is in fact home to many natural plant communities and a host of wildlife."